We live in an era of increased consumer choice and mobility, a trend that has only accelerated with the rise of digital engagement and e-commerce during the pandemic, and which has significantly reduced constituent retention and loyalty across sectors. This extends to alumni associations, of which 60% have seen member opt-out and unsubscribe rates increase or remain stagnant in recent years. This has deep implications for an industry where renewing members are integral to revenue generation and long-term sustainability.
As the maxim goes, “It costs five times more to acquire a customer than to keep an existing one” – and the data backs that up. Reaching new audiences is important, but investing in the satisfaction of your current members actually has a higher ROI, and increases the likelihood that an individual will become an engaged member – and ultimately a loyal advocate for – your alumni association. Yet associations still spend up to 11 times more on recruiting new members than retaining existing ones!
So, how do you build long-term relationships with your alumni members – and convert that into vocal advocacy and sustainable support?
Let’s dive in!
Be an Active Listener
A recent three-year survey from McKinsey found that consumer satisfaction has been in a sharp decline, exacerbated by organizations and brands that failed to keep up with the mass pivot to digital during the pandemic and the consequent shifts in consumer preferences.
Consumers are changing on the individual and macro level, with new trends overwhelmingly driven by the mass shift to digital over the past decade and accelerated by the pandemic. More people are online and on digital devices more often, which can be helpful in reaching your constituency – if you can cut through the noise and competition to connect with them in a genuinely impactful way and develop a meaningful relationship.
According to the latest data from the Alumni Relations Benchmarking Study, 54% of alumni don't renew their membership because they can't use the benefits, or are disappointed in the value of the available benefits.
How do you ensure that your members value and engage with the benefits you provide? Let them tell you!
For example, the explosive success of subscription-based services across industry – from Birchbox and Chewy to Netflix and Amazon – shows us the value of a business model based on listening to your constituents, rather than telling them what they want. People want to tell you what they need out of a service, you just have to give them the opportunity.
Pro Tip: Create an easy way to capture member feedback – whether through a comment box , webpage, or member survey, encourage your alumni constituents to provide their thoughts and experiences, and make sure they have a clear and easy way to do so.
Communication is Key
Communication goes hand-in-hand with listening to your members, and is arguably just as important.
Staying in the forefront of your members’ minds will validate their commitment by reaffirming your consistency and availability – both essential ingredients in the development of a loyal member. A recent study from Deloitte found that trustworthiness tops the list of consumer loyalty motivators, with trustworthy institutions outperforming non-trustworthy ones by a factor of 2.5!
Integral to building trust through communication is transparency and clarity regarding renewals and expirations. Making sure your members are informed about their access and benefits will not only keep them engaged, it will also open up lines of communication that you can continue to cultivate as time goes on.
Furthermore, in an increasingly mobile-first society, the channels and tools you use to reach your members are of utmost importance. 75% of alumni members in one survey say they would be more likely to engage with their organization if the benefits information were mobile-friendly.
Cutting-edge mobile communication tools like SMS Text Messaging – with its 99% open rate – helps keep members up to date on time-sensitive items as well as special events and benefits, and are proven to drive engagement and improve loyalty.
Get Personal
Personalization is the backbone of modern marketing, and alumni relations is no exception. Already, 80% of U.S. consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers personalized experiences. But, in Cuseum’s recent survey of over 150 alumni relations professionals, 77% believed that they need to offer more personalized engagement to their constituents. Personalization provides mutual benefit in that it not only improves member satisfaction and loyalty, but also helps you continue to improve your understanding of your constituents and better serve their needs.
By leveraging member data to offer more personalized outreach and content to your alumni you can:
Reduce your “unsubscribe” rate (As of 2020, the typical alumni organization’s unsubscribe rate is 0.5%, which is 150% higher than the average industry wide.)
Establish relationships of substance
Offer real value to your constituents
Boost alumni engagement
Show alumni you care
Improve your donor pipeline
According to Marketo, top marketing automation brand, “personalized marketing gives customers a sense of identity. They cease to be one of the masses, and instead become an individual with unique wants and needs.” As leading businesses like Amazon, Spotify, Snapchat, and Target take personalization to the next level, consumer expectations will continue to rise across the board. Alumni no longer want transactions, but instead appreciate personalized interactions they have come to know and enjoy as consumers.
→ Seneca Reyna, Alumni Relations Officer at New Mexico State University, said it best: “Building relationships with your alumni is just such a huge part of your job. Every time the phone is answered, we go above and beyond to make it a personal experience. When someone replies to our emails, we answer personally. I’ve started giving campus tours, and I tailor the experience to go above and beyond.”
Personalized communication is a crucial way of demonstrating to members that they are valued and important, ultimately providing an enriching member experience and laying the groundwork for an engaged and loyal alumni community in the long term.
innovate to engage
Loyalty rewards programs are skyrocketing in popularity – from points-based systems to tiered membership benefit offerings, the private sector has tapped into consumer desire for concrete incentives and gamified design and leveraged it into an industry unto its own. However, recent data from McKinsey & Company suggests the relative saturation of the market has led to a plateau in engagement, with only 50% active loyalty membership – not a recipe for supercharging loyalty.
In our fast-paced, digital-first world, the desire for a seamless and engaging user experience has become a basic requirement – both online and off. Yet as it stands, alumni organizations too often struggle to provide the ease and efficiency their audiences expect: slow or overcomplicated, outdated tech can lead to a disjointed user experience, confusion around benefits and access, and declines in member loyalty.
Counteracting that means providing a top-notch user experience that caters to your constituents, offers clear value and streamlined engagement processes.
According to the 2022 Commerce Innovation Report, Constituent loyalty drops when brands don’t innovate. The report found that more than half of consumers display a strong desire for brands that adapt to meet evolving customer preferences, payment options, and digital devices. Nearly three-quarters of consumers will take their business elsewhere if they feel their expectations are not met – with millennials most likely to abandon a brand if dissatisfied. Given the $2.5 trillion in spending power millennials represent, organizations looking to boost loyalty and prevent attrition would do well to be attentive to the generation’s needs and preferences.
What’s the upshot? Even with attractive incentives and an engaging user experience, providing innovative and diverse channels for engagement is essential to maintaining an active and loyal member base.
Plus, with 58% of dues-paying alumni associations reporting a “lack of engagement” as the primary reason members don’t renew, by fostering engagement you’ll help reduce churn and drive renewals – key requirements in the path to member retention and long-term loyalty.
Leverage THE POWER OF DATA
In our digital-first era, developing a highly-targeted, effective member retention strategy is a basic necessity – and one that has become easier than ever: through data, alumni associations can learn what members value most about their membership and provide experiences aligned with those values. The better you know your constituency, the more likely you are to be able to meet their needs and foster long-term loyalty.
Data is a fundamental tool for evaluating and enhancing alumni engagement; As the saying goes, “you can’t improve what you can’t measure.” Yet despite its proven value, as of 2020 less than 49% of alumni associations were conducting any kind of data analysis to measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts!
The pandemic has since accelerated the demand for a streamlined, personalized user experience, and as a result, more and more alumni organizations are revamping their data collection strategies and digital marketing efforts. As a 2021 study from the NAPA group put it: “Amazon knows what I want – why doesn’t my alumni association?”
Basic data analytics can help define the preferences and needs of these newly-targeted audience segments, and meet them where they are; It can facilitate a more robust understanding of your different types of members, where they find value in your institution – and how valuable they are to you. With that foundational, holistic understanding of your membership, developing a targeted, data-based retention strategy will be a piece of cake.
There are many ways to nurture loyalty, all of which depend on first understanding your members' expectations, priorities, and values. With the right member insights, alumni associations can focus on deepening constituent relationships, turning members into lifelong advocates, and continuing to provide value to new grads and long-term members for many years to come.
Want to learn more? Be sure to download our eBook, The Ultimate Guide to Navigating the New Landscape of Alumni Engagement for tips and insights from 150 alumni relations professionals!